UniCredit identifies four technologies that will define the Longevity Economy

Longer lives are no longer just a healthcare issue. They are rapidly becoming one of the most important economic and business transformations of the century. According to UniCredit's latest Horizons Observatory, LongevityTech: Technology Enabling Strategy in the Longevity Economy, organizations across every sector - from finance and manufacturing to retail, energy and infrastructure - will need to rethink how they create value in a world where people live, work and consume for longer.
The report argues that longevity is evolving from a demographic trend into a cross-sector economic opportunity, influencing investment decisions, procurement strategies, regulation, product design and customer expectations. Businesses that adapt early will be best positioned to capture growth opportunities arising from ageing populations while strengthening resilience and long-term competitiveness.

At the center of this transformation are four technologies that UniCredit identifies as the pillars of "LongevityTech":

• Artificial Intelligence
• Robotics
• Quantum Technologies
• Next-Generation Controls and Human-Machine Interfaces

Together, these technologies are expected to strengthen long-term organizational capability, improve decision-making, support ageing workforces and enable more inclusive products and services.

AI Becomes the Cognitive Infrastructure of the Longevity Economy

Artificial Intelligence is already moving from experimentation to mainstream adoption. According to the report, 88% of companies worldwide now use AI in at least one area of their operations , while the global AI market is projected to reach $813.8 billion by 2030 , more than tripling from $244 billion in 2025.
UniCredit highlights AI's growing role in helping organizations anticipate risks, support ageing workforces, improve customer experiences and enable long-term financial planning. The report points to applications ranging from predictive maintenance and fraud detection to personalized healthcare guidance and financial decision support.

Robots Move Beyond Factories

The Observatory also identifies robotics as a key enabler of longer and more productive working lives. The global robotics market is expected to grow from $74.1 billion in 2024 to $476 billion by 2035 , while 80% of people are expected to interact with smart robots daily by 2030 , compared with less than 10% today.
Beyond industrial automation, robotics is increasingly supporting healthcare, logistics, infrastructure maintenance and workplace safety, helping organizations extend operational capacity while reducing physical strain on workers.

Quantum Technologies Move Into the Mainstream

While still emerging, quantum technologies are attracting unprecedented investment. The report notes that the quantum computing market is projected to reach $7.3 billion , while governments worldwide have already committed $44.5 billion in public funding to quantum technologies.
UniCredit expects quantum technologies to play an increasingly important role in financial modelling, risk management, infrastructure planning, cybersecurity and optimization challenges that traditional computing struggles to solve.

Human-Centered Technology Gains Importance

As societies age, accessibility becomes a strategic business issue. The report highlights next-generation interfaces, including voice controls, gesture recognition, wearable technologies and brain-computer interfaces. Those are critical tools for ensuring products and services remain usable across diverse life stages.
The global brain-computer interface market alone is expected to reach $506 million by 2029, nearly doubling from $262 million in 2024 .

A Strategic Opportunity for Every Industry

According to the UniCredit report, longevity should no longer be viewed as a challenge reserved for healthcare systems.
"What's often missed in longevity discussions is that this isn't a healthcare story anymore. Finance, manufacturing, retail, real estate, every sector is being forced to reconsider how they serve, employ, and invest for longer time horizons. In this play the fast-evolving technology outlook becomes the core infrastructure that lets businesses design for decades, not quarters.", commented Prof. Nic Palmarini, Director of UK's National Innovation Centre for Ageing during the media webinar, presenting exclusively the research for the first time.

Housing, mobility, manufacturing, financial services, infrastructure, energy, consumer products and digital services all play a role in supporting longer, healthier and more productive lives.

The report concludes that competitive advantage will increasingly belong to organizations that can:

• Design products and services for longer life stages;
• Maintain performance and trust over extended time horizons;
• Reduce avoidable risks;
• Adapt operations to demographic change.

About the Report
LongevityTech: Technology Enabling Strategy in the Longevity Economy is the latest edition of UniCredit's Horizoning™ Observatory series, examining how frontier technologies are helping organizations respond to demographic change and unlock opportunities in the growing longevity economy. This report forms part of a broader series of insight-led publications and developed in partnership by UK's National Innovation Centre for Ageing (NICA) for UniCredit Longevity Economic Forum & Longevity Knowledge Hub.

Additional media information:

Ekaterina Ancheva, tel +359 894 518 193 ,